Greece battles multiple wildfires amid early summer heatwave. Image: CNN.
(The Post News)– On July 4, a wildfire erupted on Greece’s Evia island, necessitating the evacuation of Tsakeoi and Limnionas villages. The rapidly spreading fire, which was ravaging forests, prompted a large-scale firefighting effort. A team of over 160 firefighters, supported by 46 trucks and five aircraft, was dispatched to battle the inferno in southern Evia.
Strong winds had put the region on high alert, and the Evia fire was one of several wildfires affecting Europe during an unusually early summer heatwave. The Mediterranean region, including Greece, is especially prone to devastating wildfires, which are growing more destructive as a result of climate change.
In a separate development, firefighters on the Greek island of Crete had mostly contained a wildfire that had been burning since July 2. Although the fire had previously forced thousands of people, including residents and tourists, to flee and had destroyed forests and olive groves, the situation was now more stable.
Greece’s tourism industry, a crucial part of the country’s economy, is being hit hard by the wildfires, coinciding with the start of peak summer season. As temperatures are expected to soar to 38°C, worries about wildfires are escalating. Experts have identified Greece as a “wildfire hotspot” due to its hot and dry summers and predict the situation will deteriorate further without a new strategy to combat climate change.
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